Digital media envelope sleeve with identification markings

ABSTRACT

An improved digital media enclosure having two primary components, a sleeve into which the digital media is placed, and an envelope into which the sleeve is placed. At least one surface of the sleeve is printed with a plurality of identification markings on at least one of the sleeve&#39;s outer surfaces. The identification markings are each positioned at a first radial distance from a center of the sleeve in regularly angled intervals around the center. The envelope includes a pocket into which the sleeve fits. There is an opening in the envelope pocket located at substantially the first radial distance from the planar center of the sleeve pocket. The opening is also positioned at a same angle as the identification markings, such that any of the identification markings will show through the opening when the sleeve is placed in the sleeve pocket in any of its possible orientations.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a digital media disk enclosure forfacilitating processing, distributing, and redistributing digital mediadisks by mail.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The development of the Digital Versatile Disc (“DVD”) as a medium forcarrying digital movie and video information has led to a new rentalbusiness models that use postal mail for media transport. For example,U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,450, Method and Apparatus for Renting items,describes a DVD rental service in which a subscriber establishes anonline “pick list” of DVD movies that the subscriber wishes to rent. Inaddition to DVD's such a service may be used to provide video gamedisks, CD's, CD-ROM's, or any other optical media. When a selected oneof the DVD movies on the pick list becomes available in inventory, theservice mails the selected DVD movie to the subscriber. The subscriberviews the DVD and returns it to the service by mail. When the DVD isreceived by the service, the subscriber is entitled to receive anotheravailable DVD from the pick list.

In the conventional service, much of the work in receiving returnedDVD's and sending gut new DVD's to customers is done manually. Forexample, an envelope containing a returned DVD is opened by hand byworkers employed by the service. The worker manually scans a code on theDVD packaging to identify the returned DVD and the customer. Some of thereturned DVD's will be returned to inventory, however many of thereturned DVD's will need to be sent to other customers. The returnedDVD's are then manually processed again to determine which are need tobe resent to customers, and which should be kept for internal storage orprocessing. Finally, outgoing DVD's are manually inserted intoconventional mailers to be placed for outgoing delivery with the postalor delivery service. To maintain customer satisfaction, rapid processingof these incoming and outgoing DVD's is critical. The extensive manualprocessing of returned and outgoing DVD's can be time that makes quickand reliable turn-around more difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes disadvantage of the conventional methodsand systems by providing a digital media enclosure that can beefficiently processed in an automated fashion. Also, the improvedenclosure arrangement can be read regardless of the orientation in whichthe user placed the media in the arrangement.

The improved digital media enclosure includes two primary components, asleeve into which the digital media is placed, and an envelope intowhich the sleeve is placed. At least one surface of the sleeve isprinted with a plurality of identification markings on at least one ofthe sleeve's outer surfaces. The identification markings are eachpositioned at a first radial distance from a center of the sleeve inregularly angled intervals around the center.

The envelope includes a pocket into which the sleeve fits. There is anopening in the located at substantially the first radial distance fromthe planar center of the sleeve pocket. The opening is also positionedat a same angle as the identification markings, such that any of theidentification markings will show through the opening when the sleeve isplaced in the sleeve pocket in any of its possible orientations. Thisprovides automated scanning capability that does not depend on the userplacing the sleeve in the envelope in any single orientation.

In preferred embodiments, the identification markings on the sleeve aresimilarly positioned on both sides of the sleeve. Also, the opening inthe sleeve pocket can extend completely through both sides of theenvelope. The sleeve is preferably square, fitting in a square sleevepocket is square. In this square arrangement, the identificationmarkings on one side of the sleeve are comprised of four markings thatare positioned at right angles to each other.

The identification markings can be one dimensional or two dimensionalbarcodes. The barcodes can include identification information about thecontent of the digital media disk, or about the subscriber who sent thedisk, such as information identifying a customer account, for example.

In the method for using the digital media enclosure, the digital mediais placed in the sleeve, and the sleeve is placed in the envelope. Whenthe stuffed envelope is returned to the processing center, anidentification marking can be read through the opening in the sleevepocket, without opening the envelope, in order to identify the digitalmedia disk or the user of the digital media disk based on the scannedinformation marking. Based on the identification marking, the stuffedenvelope can then be sorted for further processing.

Further details of the present invention are provided in theaccompanying drawings, detailed description, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A and 1B depict an exemplary back sheet for forming a two-waymailer.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary middle sheet for forming a two-way mailer.

FIG. 3 depicts the combination of the exemplary back and middle sheetsfor forming a two-way mailer.

FIG. 4 depicts the combination of FIG. 3 with the addition of aremovable top sheet.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict exemplary fronts and backs of sleeves for holdingdigital media disks.

FIG. 6 depicts an alternative arrangement for forming two-way mailers.

FIGS. 7A-7D depict components and finished assembly of one of thealternative arrangements.

FIGS. 8A and 8B depict an exemplary return portion of the mailer withthe digital media sleeve enclosed.

FIG. 9 depicts an embodiment with an check box for indicating adefective DVD is enclosed.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary known digital media disc for use inconnection with the present invention.

FIG. 11 depicts an embodiment of a combination of a DVD and sleeve.

FIG. 12 depicts a view of a DVD and sleeve inside an envelope inaccordance with a preferred embodiment.

FIGS. 13 and 14 depicts an exemplary sorter machine for use with the DVDprocessing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The preferred embodiment of the digital media mailer shown in FIGS. 1-4is composed of three sheets fastened on top of one another in threelayers. While the preferred embodiment uses separate and distinct sheetsfor its layers, the term “sheets” should also be understood to meanparts of a single sheet that have been folded to form the layers thatcomprise the mailer.

In this application, certain elements of the two-way mailer may berelevant for different stages in the use of the mailer. These stageswill be referred to as “initial” or “outgoing” stage for the delivery ofthe media from the service to the customer. A “return” or “incoming”stage refers to the part of the process when the customer is returningthe digital media to the service. Certain features are directed toassisting to quickly transition a DVD from an incoming stage from onecustomer, to an outgoing stage for another customer.

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict a back sheet 10 that forms a base forconstructing the two-way mailer. FIG. 1A shows a rear view of the backsheet 10. The back surface shown in FIG. 1A will be the back side of theenvelope for both the outgoing and return mail pieces. FIG. 1B is theinterior side of back sheet 10. This interior side will form part of thepocket for holding the digital media.

Back sheet 10 includes the flap 11 used for sealing the mailer. On flap11 adhesive 16 is used to seal the flap closed upon outgoing delivery.Perforated strip 14 is torn by the digital media recipient in order toopen the sealed flap 11 to remove the digital media. For resealing, acovered adhesive 17 is provided. When the recipient wishes to reseal andreturn the mailer, a non-adhesive covering is removed from adhesive 17and the flap 11 may be sealed again (with the upper portion of flap 11gone from the prior opening process).

The body 12 of back sheet 10 includes a circular opening 13. Opening 13is a hole in the sheet positioned to be a predetermined distance fromthe center of the pocket region in which the digital media will beplaced during outgoing and return delivery. The predetermined distanceand angular positioning of the opening 13 will be discussed later inconnection with FIGS. 5A and 5B. Opening 13 provides viewing access to adigital media sleeve 50 from the rear side of the envelope for bothoutgoing and return mail pieces. A circular shaped opening is preferredbecause that shape is less likely to catch in postal processingequipment. However, any alternative shape may suffice.

Adhesive regions 15 along the left and right sides of back sheet body 12are used to attach the middle sheet 20 (FIG. 2) to the back sheet 10. Inbetween the adhesive regions 15, a pocket region 18 will be formed forholding the digital media. Accordingly, it will be important tocarefully dimension the adhesive regions 15 to achieve the desiredpocket region. It will be understood that the glue regions 15 may becorrespondingly placed on middle sheet 20, and still have the samestructural result.

Preferred dimensions for the back sheet 10 are as follows: back sheetbody 12 is 7.5″×5.5″; flap 11 extends 2″ from body 12; and opening 13 is1.2″ in diameter. The adhesive regions 15 are 1″ wide, and the pocketregion is 5.75″ inches wide.

Middle sheet 20, depicted in FIG. 2, fits directly over the body 12 ofback sheet 10, and has the same measurements. In a preferred embodimentthe middle sheet 20 is placed upside down on the back sheet 10, so thatwhen the flap 11 eventually closes it will not cover the return address22 or postal markings 24. This combination of the back sheet 10 andmiddle sheet 20 is depicted in FIG. 3.

Middle sheet 20 also includes a return destination address 21,indicating where the digital media will be delivered upon return fromthe customer. In a first embodiment, the return destination address 21is preprinted on middle sheet 20 prior to assembly in the mailer.Alternatively, for use in an embodiment such as depicted in FIGS. 7 and8A-D, the return destination address 21 may initially be blank. Middlesheet opening 23 is the same size, and aligns with, back sheet opening13. When middle sheet 20 is fastened on top of back sheet 10 a pocketregion 18 is formed, and through openings 13 and 23 the contents ofpocket region 18 may be viewed both from the front and back.

For attaching a top sheet 40 to the middle sheet 20, adhesive areas 25are placed on the middle sheet 20. Adhesive areas 25 are preferablysmall as compared to adhesive regions 15. The reason for small adhesiveareas 25 is so that a user will be able to easily remove the top sheet40 when it is time to use the return portion of the mailer. Accordingly,a plurality of small adhesive areas 25 is preferred, as opposed to fewerand larger areas.

FIG. 4 depicts a top sheet 40 fastened on top of the middle sheet 20. Inthe preferred embodiment, the delivery address region 41 is initiallyblank. Only after the digital media has been inserted in the mailer, thedelivery address region is filled in with a customer delivery address.Return address 42 and postage markings 44 may be pre-printed, but mayalso be printed after the mailer is filled. Top sheet 40 also includesan opening 43 to allow scanning of information on the middle sheet 20.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict embodiments of a digital media sleeve 50 having afront face 51 and a back face 52. In these examples, the sleeve iscomprised of a single sheet separated by a folding line 59. It will beunderstood that any configuration of sleeve will suffice, so long as itfits in the pocket region 18.

An important feature of the sleeve 50 in FIG. 5A is that 2-D barcodes53A-H are evenly space at a radial distance around a center of thesleeve. Barcodes 53A-H is preferably ½ inch square.

These barcodes 53A-H includes an identification of the content of thedigital media contained in the sleeve 50, for example the DVD movietitle, or a serial number for a particular copy of the DVD. Suchinformation may also be included in supplementary 1-D barcode 54 orplain text code 55. The sleeve 50 further preferably includes a plaintext title 56 for the media content, along with detailed descriptions 57and instruction messages 58.

By positioning the four barcodes 53A-D in a square at a predetermineddistance around the center of the front face 51, and by positioning theopenings 13 and 23 at the same predetermine distance, and at 90 degreesrelative to the edges of the envelope, it is assured that one of thebarcodes 53A-D can be positioned to be scanned through openings 13 and23 for outgoing and incoming pieces, without opening the mailer. Withthis arrangement, one of the barcodes 53A-H will be visible through theopenings 13 and 23 regardless of the orientation in which the customerplaces the DVD sleeve 50 into the envelope.

As a result, more streamlined processes may be applied by a rentalservice for incoming mail whereby time critical DVD's can be identifiedsooner, without the need to open the pieces. Also, for outgoing pieces,automated processes for inserting and addressing DVD's can be controlledby scanning of at least one of the sleeve barcodes 53A-H. Similarly,FIG. 5B depicts an embodiment where one dimensional barcodes 54A-H areused instead of 2D barcodes.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show an exemplary return portion of a two-way mailer,with the sleeve barcode 53 showing through openings 73 and 76, offsetfrom the center of the sleeve by 90 degrees and at the predetermineddistance from the center.

It should be understood the requirement of placing the barcode 53, oropenings 13 and 23, in their respective positions on the sleeve 50 orpocket region 18 does not require a strict geometric measurement.Rather, the size of the openings 13 and 23 and a smaller size of thebarcode 53 may allow for a margin of error in placement such that theymay be considered centered for purposes of this invention. What mattersmost is that at least one of the barcodes 53A-H be visible through theopenings 13 and 23, regardless of the orientation of how the sleeve 50is placed in the pocket.

FIG. 6 depicts an alternative embodiment for constructing the mailer,having two main differences from what was described previously. First,the sheets 10, 20 and 60 forming the mailer are formed from a singlesheet. In this arrangement, middle sheet 20 would first be folded alongline 62 to be fixed along the adhesive regions 15 of the back sheet 10.Then, top sheet 60 could be folded along fold line 63 to be affixed ontop of the middle sheet 20. Line 63 may be perforated to facilitateremoval of top sheet 60 prior to sending the return mail piece.

Alternatively, sheet 20 be switched with sheet 60, so that the top ofmiddle sheet 20 is along fold line 63, while the edge of top sheet 60 isalong fold line 62. As another acceptable variation, sheets 10 and 20may be formed from a single sheet, while top sheet 60 is formed from aseparate sheet.

The other structural difference depicted in FIG. 6 is the placement ofopening 61. Top sheet opening 61, when folded over middle sheet 20allows access to the opening 23 and to the return address destinationregion 21. By exposing the return address destination region 21, it ispossible scan one of the sleeve barcodes 53 and to print a unique returnaddress in the return address destination 21 while the mailer is beingassembled, and after the media is inserted. This arrangement isdiscussed further below in connection with FIGS. 7A-D.

FIGS. 7A depicts a partially constructed mailer similar to that shown inFIG. 7. In FIG. 7A the return delivery address region 21 has been leftblank on the middle sheet 20. Also, the opening 61 has taken the placewhere normally an outgoing delivery address would have been printed. Tofinish mailer shown in this embodiment, a printer prints the returndelivery address on the region 21 through the opening 61. The uniquereturn address printed in region 21 may include Postnet and/or PLANETcodes. Such codes can bye used by the Postal Service to track mailthroughout delivery in the postal delivery system. Next, an outgoingdelivery address is printed on a label 83 as depicted in FIG. 7B. Thelabel 83 is then place on the top sheet 60 over the opening 61 asdepicted in FIG. 7C. For completeness, FIG. 7D shows a rear view of themailer with the sleeve 50 and barcode 53 showing through the opening 65.

FIG. 9 depicts a preferred embodiment where the return portion of theenvelope includes a box 91 for an indicator marking. If the user has aproblem playing the DVD, the processing center needs to know so thatcorrective action can be taken. Accordingly, automated equipment scansthe incoming returned mail pieces to determine whether box 91 includesan indicator mark. If a mark is present, then the automated equipmentcan outsort the returned piece for cleaning or repair processing.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary DVD 100 that is used in connection with thepreferred embodiment. DVD 100 includes a hub 101 on which a barcode 102and/or text information can be displayed. In a prior art arrangement, itis known for the hub to include a barcode 102 that includes informationabout the DVD 100.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 11 represents a significant improvementthat provides for automated processing of returned DVD's. In thisembodiment, DVD 100 is placed within a sleeve 101 having barcodes 111.The DVD barcode 102, on the hub 101 of the DVD 100, includes informationidentifying the DVD. Barcodes 111 also include information identifyingthe DVD. As a result, the barcodes 102 and 111 can be compared todetermine whether the DVD 100 is matched with the correct sleeve 110 forwhich it is intended. Since the sleeve 110 usually includes informationthat is specific to that DVD 100, it is important that it be correctbefore being sent to another customer. By automated scanning of thebarcode 102 through the opening in the sleeve, and scanning of a barcode111 an automated comparison can be done to determine whether extraprocessing is required to correct a mismatch between the DVD and thesleeve. FIG. 12 depicts one exemplary way in which barcodes 102, on theDVD hub 101, and barcode 111 on the sleeve are seen through an openingin an envelope 120.

FIGS. 13 and 14 depict a side and top view of sorter machine 103.Incoming DVD envelopes 123 are placed in a feeder 124. In the preferredembodiment, then the codes on the DVD sleeves and on the DVD'sthemselves should be visible through windows on either side of theenvelope. A scanner camera 125 scans codes from the DVD envelopes 123 asthey are fed to the sorter deck 126. Envelopes 123 are then transportedalong the length of deck 126. In this embodiment, if the camera 125cannot properly read the envelope, the envelope is diverted at divertmodule 127 into divert bin 128 or 129. Unreadable envelopes may beprocessed by hand, or repaired and placed back in the feeder 124. At theend of the sorter 103, a stacking device 130 is positioned to stack theprocessed DVD envelopes.

In operation, envelopes 123 are preferably similar to the one depictedin FIG. 12. The scanner camera 125 captures an image of the disc hubbarcode 102 and sleeve barcode 111. Camera 125 is coupled to acontroller computer 132. Controller computer 132 may be any kind ofconventional computer capable of rapidly processing barcode images.Controller computer 132 decodes the barcodes 102 and 103 and determineswhether they correspond to one another. In one embodiment, thecorresponding match may be established by identifying that the twobarcodes are identical to each other, the identical barcodes beingassociated with a particular DVD. Alternatively, the barcodes 102 and103 might be different, but can be related to each other in a databaseas linked to a common DVD.

If the controller 132 determines that the sleeve barcode 111 does notmatch the disc hub barcode 102 then the sorter is controlled to divertthe digital media package into one of the divert bins 128 or 129 that isdesignated for manual processing when errors such as this are detected.If a proper match is found between the barcodes 102 and 111 then thesorter may proceed with sorting the digital media to the output stacker127.

In another embodiment, scanner camera 125 looks for a mark made by thesubscriber in box 91, as seen in FIG. 9. The controller computer 132interprets such a mark to mean that the disc is defective and requireserror processing. Accordingly, controller 132 controls diverters 127 todirect the marked envelopes to bins 128 or 129 for manual errorprocessing.

In a further embodiment, the sorter 103 detects whether there are moreor less than a single disk in the mail packages 123. A first techniquecomprises including scanning a third code on an opposite side of thedisc hub through the sleeve opening via a second scanner camera 133,positioned opposite scanner 125. Controller computer 132 is coupled tothe second camera 133. Controller computer 132 compares the third codethe first and/or second codes to determine if the codes on both sidesbelong to the same DVD. If they are different, then controller 132determines that there is more than one DVD in the sleeve. If no first orthird barcode is detected, the controller 132 determines there is nodisc in the sleeve. In either event, where there is more or less thanone disc in a sleeve, then controller 132 outsorts the digital mediapackage to one of the error processing bins 128 or 129.

In another embodiment, a thickness sensor 127 coupled to controller 132is used to determine whether the thickness of the mailed digital mediapackage is too much or too little for a single disc. If it is too much,then it may be inferred that there is more than one disc. If there istoo little thickness, then it means that there is no disc in the sleeve.In either event, where there is more or less than one disc in a sleeve,then controller 132 outsorts the digital media package to one of theerror processing bins 128 or 129.

Although the invention has been described with respect to preferredembodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and deviationsin the form and detail thereof may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of this invention. In particular, it should beremembered that although DVD's are described as the mailed digitalmedia, the invention is applicable any type of flat digital media.

1. A digital media enclosure comprising: a sleeve dimensioned to enclosea digital media disk, the sleeve including a plurality of identificationmarkings on both of the sleeve's outer surfaces, the identificationmarkings each positioned at a first radial distance from a center of thesleeve in regularly angled intervals around the center of the sleeve;and an envelope including a sleeve pocket, the sleeve pocket includingan opening on at least one side of the envelope, the opening located atsubstantially the first radial distance from a center of the sleevepocket, and at a same angle as the identification markings, such thatany of the identification markings will show substantially in itsentirety through the opening when the sleeve is placed in the sleevepocket in any of its possible orientations; wherein the sleeve pocket issquare, and the identification markings on both sides of the sleeve arecomprised of four markings that are positioned at right angles to eachother.
 2. The digital media enclosure of claim 1 wherein the opening inthe sleeve pocket extends completely through both sides of the envelope.3. The digital media enclosure of claim 1 wherein the sleeve is square.4. The digital media enclosure of claim 1 wherein the identificationmarkings are two dimensional barcodes.
 5. The digital media enclosure ofclaim 4 wherein the barcodes include identification informationidentifying content of the digital media disk.
 6. The digital mediaenclosure of claim 4 wherein the barcodes include identificationinformation identifying a customer account.
 7. The digital mediaenclosure of claim 1 wherein the identification markings are onedimensional barcodes.
 8. A method for tracking digital media containedin a digital media enclosure, the method comprising: providing a userwith a sleeve dimensioned to enclose a digital media disk, the sleeveincluding a plurality of identification markings on both of the sleeve'souter surfaces, the identification markings each positioned at a firstradial distance from a center of the sleeve in regularly angledintervals around the center of the sleeve; and providing the user withan envelope including a sleeve pocket, the sleeve pocket including anopening on at least one side of the envelope, the opening located atsubstantially the first radial distance from a center of the sleevepocket, and at a same angle as the identification markings, such thatany of the identification markings will show substantially in itsentirety through the opening when the sleeve is placed in the sleevepocket in any of its possible orientations, and the sleeve pocket issquare, and the identification markings on both sides of the sleeve arecomprised of four markings that are positioned at right angles to eachother.
 9. The method of tracking digital media of claim 8 furthercomprising: instructing the user to place the digital media in thesleeve and the sleeve in the envelope to form a stuffed envelope;receiving the stuffed envelope; and scanning the identification markingshowing through the opening in the envelope without opening theenvelope.
 10. The method of tracking digital media of claim 9 furthercomprising identifying the digital media disk based on the scannedidentification marking.
 11. The method of tracking digital media ofclaim 9 further comprising identifying the user of the digital mediadisk based on the scanned identification marking.
 12. The method oftracking digital media of claim 9 further comprising sorting the stuffedenvelope based on the scanned identification markings.